Cherry galette with almond cream

I swore that this year, when cherry season strikes, besides stuffing myself crazy with fresh cherries, I would actually set aside some for baking. And I did!

Cherry galette with almond cream

I was really excited to make a cherry pie. Cos I really love anything pie-y or tart-y. But then, I was a bit lazy to actually make a pie, as what I had in mind was a lattice top pie, and in such hot weather, I really doubt I could pull it off. So, I made do with a lazy pastry option - the galette. While no less delicious, it really made things so much simpler. I made the dough. Chilled it. Roll it out. Chilled it again. And it was ready to be filled and baked. See? No tears. I reckon if I'd attempted to make a lattice top pie, it would certainly be a different story altogether...

The pastry was a breeze to work with. I used the food processor to blitz everything together, and it was really obedient when I was handling it (read - not breaking apart, or turning oily due to the heat from my warm hands). I shaped the dough into two galettes. I didn't measure, but approximately, the galette sizes were 4.5" and 8" respectively.

I loved the oven roasted cherries filling. I would have baked the filling a little longer, but the pastry edges were already a nice brown shade, thus I didn't want to risk overbaking the pastry and burning it, so I removed it from the oven when I deemed it done.

The tasters of the galettes had mixed reaction to the almond pastry cream. Some thought that the cream was not needed, in fact, it overpowered the cherries taste, while some didn't comment on it (in which I suppose they think it was fine!). I thought that the cream was a tad grainy, unlike the normal velvety smooth pastry cream I'm used to as it was made from almond meal. Overall, Daddy did like the galette though, and so did the Sis, so once again, I'm pretty happy with this dessert.

Cherry galette with almond pastry cream (adapted from here and here)

Almond pastry cream
350g milk, plus extra
75g almond meal
1g salt
55g egg yolks (approx. 3)
55g castor sugar
3g vanilla paste
15g corn starch
20g salted butter

Bring milk, almond meal and salt to the boil in a small saucepan.
Remove from heat and and infuse for 5 minutes before rubbing through a fine sieve. Discard almonds. Add a little extra milk to bring the total weight to 350g.
Whisk yolks, sugar, vanilla and corn starch in a medium bowl until pale. Temper the yolks with the milk by pouring the milk into the bowl slowly and whisking continuously.
Return milk to the pan and over medium heat, bring to a simmer, whisking continuously .
Transfer to a bowl, add butter and stir until completely incorporated.
Keep refrigerated.

Tart dough
250g AP flour
50g wholemeal flour
1/2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
125g unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1/6 to 1/3 cup iced water

Pulse flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor until combined.
Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. Drizzle 1/3 cup ice water evenly over mixture. Pulse until mixture holds together when pressed between 2 fingers (dough should not be wet or sticky). If dough is too dry, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse.
Shape dough into one disk, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour (I chilled mine overnight).

Filling 
2.5 cups cherries, pitted
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp kosher salt
small splash of kirsch (optional)
1 small egg beaten, for brushing
coarse sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 190C. Take the dough out of the fridge and let it sit for about 5-10 minutes before rolling out. On a piece of parchment paper, roll the dough out to a 12-14" round (rough edges are ok). Transfer the dough on its parchment to a rimmed sheet pan and put in the fridge for 15 minutes.
In a medium bowl, stir together the cherries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, salt and kirsch. Remove the dough from the fridge and pile the fruit in the center, leaving about a 1 1/2-inch border all the way around. Fold the border up around the fruit, letting it fall into creases naturally.
Brush the edges of the galette with the egg wash, and sprinkle the crust generously with the coarse sugar. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling in the center, 1 - 1 1/4 hours. Be sure to bake until the juices are bubbling, otherwise the cornstarch won't have activated and thickened the juices.
Remove the pan from the oven and cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack. After that, transfer the parchment directly to the wire rack to cool completely before serving.